I got back from my visit to Dorset the other day and left my shopping bag full of jars of spices tucked behind my drivers seat in the car. I forgot all about them until yesterday when I needed them to make dinner.
I was making burgers, which meant I had to make my husband's favourite spicy fries.
I set about putting my newly retrieved jars of spices, I came across the remainder of the harissa I had made for the lamb tajine I cooked the other night.
On a whim, I tossed what was left into the oil I planned to roast the chips in instead of the usual various spices I use.
What resulted was a huge, golden pile of tasty fries which were tastier than any I've made in a long while.
I wasn't sure that a plain ol' burger and fries was worth a whole blog post, but what the hell.
Roasted Harissa FriesServes 4, Takes 40 minutes
750g (1 1/2 lbs) Maris Piper or other floury potatoes, skin-on and cut into 2cm (3/4") chips
2 tbsp harissa (recipe here) make enough to save some in the fridge for another time
A few good glugs olive oil
2 tsp coarse sea salt
Preheat the oven to 190C (375F)
Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil and blanch the chips for 5 minutes, until almost tender. Drain well and allow to steam dry for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, pour the olive oil, salt and harissa into a large baking sheet which is large enough to hold all the chips in one layer. Pop this into the oven to get nice and hot for 5 minutes or so while you boil and drain the chips.
Tip the chips into the hot, spicy oil and toss well, making sure to coat every little bit. Roast in your hot oven for 30 minutes, removing form the oven once during cooking to turn with a spatula.
Serve right out of the oven with heaps of your chosen condiments and a big, juicy burger.
Incidentally, I served these burgers with mayo, shredded romaine lettuce, sliced tomatoes, homemade pickles and a heap of caramelized onions on a crusty white roll.
To make the patties, I used Hereford sirloin mince, a few breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, an egg and several shakes of Frank's Red Hot sauce.
Oven Fries
I followed the link "Truth behind American chicken" Tyson have been investigated many times. In the early years of the Clinton administration they were investigated for poor treatment of their workers who were paid well below minimum wage and and forced to work in next to impossible conditions. Many of them had deformed feet and hands from the extreme cold in the factory. Their hands being in ice water and standing in ice water on a concrete floor all day. Most of them had no health insurance either so there was no help for them. Sadly nothing was done because Bill Clinton is a close friend of Don Tyson and it was all pushed under the carpet. In fact, Don Tyson won a deal to produce frozen fish and was assisted in that by is chum B.C. I believe it is marketed under a different name. I have never bought Tyson products since then. There should be a boycott of them.
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